In the Belarusian state media’s information agenda, traditionally, much attention is paid to the achievement of “food security” by Minsk. At the same time, the situation with the supply of food in different countries of the world is covered in gloomy colors. In early July, Alexander Lukashenko, in a meeting with the government, said that the global food crisis would lead to famine and critically evaluated the activities of international organizations.

“You see the helplessness with which the entire UN is trying to avoid the inevitable crisis. 50 countries in the world are critically dependent on this food. Therefore, they are just flowers”, warned Lukashenka. Meanwhile, in Belarus itself this summer, food shortages began to occur, for which the authorities found several explanations. DW has compiled a list of top products that are circulating or may be in the near future.

Sugar Passion and Prime Minister’s Advice

In mid-July, unprecedented demand for sugar was observed in some regions of Belarus. This was especially notable in the Brest region, where their sales increased by an average of 4-5 times. The reason for the excitement was the rumors about a sharp increase in the cost of this product, which the authorities resolutely denied.

Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, who visited one of the sugar factories on August 3, said the country has created a reserve that will last until production of sugar from raw materials from the new crop begins: “20- 25,000 tons of sugar is beyond calculated needs if anyone wants to make their life even sweeter.” At the same time, the prime minister gave advice to Belarusians: “You need to eat less sugar, you will be healthier.”

At the same time, the authorities are trying to avoid comment on the prices of this product after the start of processing of the new crop beet. The cost of sugar is determined in accordance with the decision of the Ministry of Regulation and Antimonopoly Trade, and the last time it was increased in April 2022 – immediately by 40%. In addition, the Belarusian government has added sugar to the list of goods whose export is restricted outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Milk is not in short supply, but there are no containers for it due to sanctions

Another important daily product, which became less on the shelves of Belarusian stores, was milk. In particular, we are talking about a reduced range of dairy products. “Unfortunately, there is not much choice now: milk is sold in PET bottles and film, but it has disappeared somewhere in cardboard packaging, where it has a long shelf life. You can’t always find cream on sale, I like to use them in homemade cakes”, says Svetlana, a resident of Brest.

The reduction in the authorities’ milk assortment is explained by problems with packaging

The Belarusian Ministry of Agriculture and Food guarantees that there is no shortage of milk in the country, and the reduction in the range is due to problems with the packaging (in particular, from Tetra Pak). In an interview with state media, Deputy Minister Vadim Shagoiko actually admitted that the lack of packaging in dairy companies is due to the sanctions imposed.

“There are some difficulties with Tetra Pak, but this issue is being resolved, cooperation with manufacturers in China and other friendly countries is planned. Now batches have been brought in for testing instead of this packaging to return the assortment that people are in before sanctions,” Shagoiko explained. It is true that the official did not name specific dates when the issue could be resolved. In Belarus itself, the long-discussed investment project for the production of such packaging in the company Berezatara was never implemented. Now Beezatara has been declared bankrupt.

Apples from “hostile countries” win the competition

On January 1, 2022, in response to Western sanctions, Belarus imposed a food embargo that affected more than two dozen commodity items. However, the ban lasted less than five months and was lifted for zucchini, peppers, eggplant and some vegetables.

This year is fruitful for apples in Belarus

Counter-sanctions also ceased to apply to the supply of apples, the shortage of which began to be visibly felt in Belarusian stores last spring. “Domestic apples lose their flavor during storage and do not attract buyers. As soon as it became possible to import similar products from Poland again, we took advantage of it,” noted one of the Belarusian retail chains.

Polish apples of late varieties are also sold now, when the first varieties grown in Belarus itself appeared in stores. “This year will be fruitful for apples – they are many, but they also spoil quickly. You can process them into juice and jam, but it is unlikely that you will be able to store them all winter in their usual form”, Brest Retired Valentina Fedoruk shares his views on the harvest.

Will Belarusians have problems with flour and buckwheat?

Although the grain harvesting campaign is in full swing, the Minsk authorities have already announced that they do not plan to export the new grain of the crop. According to Alexander Lukashenko, this is being done to produce more forage and use it for livestock needs. “Some states sell a lot of wheat, rye, corn and then buy milk, meat,” Lukashenko said.

Meanwhile, the Belarusian government has once again extended the ban on the export of wheat flour and buckwheat from the country. The restrictions have been in place for more than a year, but the authorities guarantee that there is no reason to panic and that they are ready to fully meet the population’s demand. “For some reason, when some kind of political and military thing comes up, people are under the impression that they need to ‘stock up’,” complained Belarus Minister of Agriculture and Food Igor Brylo on the air of Belarus 1 TV channel.

According to the minister, the excitement is artificially created: “You eat twice as much flour now – for God’s sake, let’s produce twice as much flour.” Of course, we are only talking about products made in Belarus, but it is not yet clear whether import supplies will be available.